Lord of the Things - Teaching material
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Lord of the Things – Teaching material
Lord of the Things – teaching material is pro- The material can also be downloaded from
duced by the Helsinki Commission. The Hel- the HELCOM website: www.helcom.fi under
sinki Commission (HELCOM) works to protect the “Publications” section.
the marine environment of the Baltic Sea
from all sources of pollution through intergov- The film includes important terminology which
ernmental co-operation between Denmark, is not easy for all students to understand.
Estonia, the European Community, Finland, This material provides the teacher with addi-
Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia and tional material to deal with the issues of e.g.
Sweden. HELCOM is the administrative body eutrophication, loss of biodiversity and the
of the “Convention on the Protection of the fragile ecosystem of the Baltic Sea in greater
Marine Environment of the Baltic Sea Area” detail. The material also includes descriptions
– more usually known as the Helsinki Conven- of some organisms that live in the Baltic Sea
tion. In the protection of the Baltic Sea area, and communicative exercises which encour-
the key issues requiring action are eutrophica- age students to exchange ideas and have
tion, toxic (hazardous) substances, maritime discussions either in English or in their mother
activities and biodiversity. tongue.
The teaching material is designed for 11-13 We wish you and your students interesting
year old students. The material includes a lessons with this material.
catoon with Lord of the Things film, exercises
and a paper version of these exercises. This
material can be copied. The material can be
used both in English, Biology and Geography
lessons. This teaching material is meant to
help teachers deal with questions related to
the protection of the Baltic Sea. The Lord of
the Things film is a tale of how we can all help
to achieve a healthy Baltic Sea.
TEACHER’S MATERIAL 1Contents
Teaching unit 1: The Baltic Sea . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
1. Teacher’s guide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
2. Reading material for students: The Baltic Sea . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
3. Exercise 1 Names on the map . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
4. Exercise 2 Features of the Baltic Sea . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
5. Exercise 3 Explain shortly to your partner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
6. Exercise 4 Make a cartoon according to the film . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Teaching unit 2:
The life of the Baltic Sea – My future is your future . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
1. Teacher’s guide (exercises 1-5). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
2. Reading material for students: Info cards (species introductions) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
3. ID-cards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Teaching unit 3: The speech of the Lord of the Seas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
1. Teacher’s guide (exercises 1 and 3) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
2. Reading material for students: Eutrophication, Toxic substances,
Oil, Biodiversity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
3. Exercise 1 The race has not ended yet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
4. Exercise 2 The speech of the Lord of the Seas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
5. Exercise 3 Essay . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
List of key words. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
TEACHER’S MATERIAL 2Teaching unit 1: The Baltic Sea
You will need:
– Lord of the Things -film
– Copies of the map and exercises 1-4 for each student
– Copies of the text on the Baltic Sea
– A blank piece of paper, size A4
Instructions:
– Begin the lesson by showing the Lord of the Things film
– Give students the text on the Baltic Sea to read
– Give students exercises 1 and 2
– Check exercises 1 and 2 together
– Divide the students into pairs and give exercise 3
– Ask each pair to tell the rest of the class the conclusions they have come to
– Give each students a copy of the cartoon exercise and a blank piece of paper, size A4
Ask students to do exercise 4
– Hang the results of exercise 4 on the classroom wall
Duration: 2-3 lessons (each lesson about 45 minutes)
TEACHER’S MATERIAL 3The Baltic Sea
Young sea with brackish water Few species
The Baltic Sea is the youngest sea on the There are fewer species in the Baltic Sea than in
planet. It has brackish water which means open oceans. In the Baltic Sea, the salt level is
that the water has a lot less salt than open either too low for the marine species or too high
oceans. The salinity of the northern and for the fresh water species. This alone makes life
eastern parts of the Baltic Sea is 1-2 PSU difficult for the different species in the Baltic Sea.
(parts per thousand) and in the southern But, survival for many species is becoming more
part it is 20 PSU. For example, the salinity of difficult as the sea is getting more and more pol-
Atlantic and Pacific Ocean waters is about 35 luted. Also, the climate in the Baltic Sea region
PSU. The many rivers flowing into the Baltic affects the living conditions of species. The north-
Sea bring fresh water and the only way it gets ern and eastern parts of the Baltic Sea freeze
salty water is from the North Sea through over in winter. This is also one reason why there
the narrow passage between Denmark and are more species in the southern parts of the
Sweden. The fresh and the salty water get Baltic Sea than in the northern and eastern parts.
mixed and this is how the Baltic Sea gets its
brackish water. At the same time as salty
Polluted sea
water flows into the Baltic Sea, some brackish
water flows out into the North Sea. The Baltic Sea is still one of the most heavily pol-
luted seas in the world. Nine countries share the
Baltic Sea coastline: Sweden and Finland in the
Shallow sea with little oxygen
north, Russia, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania in
The Baltic Sea is shallow and divided into the east, Poland in the south, and Germany and
many basins of varying depths. Because there Denmark in the west. About 16 million people
is not very much water exchange in the Baltic live along the coast, and around 90 million in
Sea, the bottoms of these basins can easily the entire catchment area of the Baltic Sea. In
become areas where there is no oxygen. addition to the countries bordering the Baltic
Oxygen is important to the survival of animals Sea, the catchment area also includes parts of
and plants in the sea, therefore areas where Belarus, the Czech Republic, Norway, the Slovak
there is no oxygen also have no life. The flow Republic and Ukraine, as some of the rivers
of salty water from the North Sea has to be entering the sea begin far inland. In the catch-
extremely strong to reach the deepest basins. ment area, industry, traffic and farming are the
The salty water goes easily to the bottom main causes of pollution to the Baltic Sea. The
because it is heavier than the brackish water. Baltic Sea is very sensitive to pollution because it
This is important because the salty water mixes gets new, cleaner water from the North Sea too
the water in the basins and brings oxygen to slowly and the polluted water flows too slowly
the deepest areas of the Baltic Sea. out into the North Sea. Polluted water can stay
in the Baltic Sea for up to 25-30 years.
STUDENT’S MATERIAL 4EXERCISE 1 Names on the map
Write down the following names on the map.
A. Countries around Gulf of Riga
the Baltic Sea: Kattegat
Kiel Bay
Denmark
Northern Baltic Proper
Estonia
Pomeranian Bay
Finland
The Sound
Germany
Southern Baltic Proper
Latvia
Lithuania
Poland D. Islands:
Russian Federation Åland Islands (Finland)
Sweden Bornholm (Denmark)
Gotland (Sweden
B. Other countries in Hailuoto (Finland)
the catchment area: Hiiunmaa (Estonia)
Oland (Sweden)
Belarus Rugen (Germany)
The Czech Republic Stockholm Archipelago (Sweden)
Norway Usedom or Uznam (split between Germany
The Slovak Republic and Poland)
Ukraine Wolin (Poland)
C. Parts of the Baltic Sea: E. Capitals:
Archipelago Sea Berlin
Aland Sea Copenhagen
Arkona basin Helsinki
Bay of Mecklenburg Minsk
Belt Sea Moscow
Bornholm basin Oslo
Bothnian Bay Riga
Bothnian Sea Stockholm
Eastern and Western Gotland Seas Tallinn
Gulf of Finland Vilnius
Gulf of Gdansk Warsaw
STUDENT’S MATERIAL 5KM STUDENT’S MATERIAL 6
EXERCISE 2 Features of the Baltic Sea
A. Colour the line surrounding B. Add the following numbers to
the Baltic Sea catchment area. the correct places on the map.
1. A lot of salt
2. A smaller amount of salt
3. Lots of people
4. A smaller number of people
5. Many species
6. A smaller number of species
7. The sea freezers in the winter
8. The sea does not freeze
EXERCISE 3 Explain shortly to your partner
What makes the Baltic Sea unique
in the world?
STUDENT’S MATERIAL 7EXERCISE 4
Make a cartoon according to the film
A. Put the pictures in the correct order B. Write shortly what happens in each
according to the film and glue them on picture.
a piece of paper. C. Compare the results.
STUDENT’S MATERIAL 8Teaching unit 2: The life of the Baltic Sea
– My future is your future
You will need:
– Safety pins or pins; one for each student
– Copies of info cards on species and ID-cards. One info card and one ID-card per student
– About 25 strings of wool per group, each string 50 cm in length
– 2 soft balls per group
Instructions:
– Read exercises 1-5. With every exercise you will find more detailed instructions
– Teacher-centred classroom work is recommended throughout these 5 exercises
– These exercises introduce 13 species of the Baltic Sea and this is why it is a good idea to divide
the class into groups of 13 students already in the beginning of the teaching unit. If one
group would have less than 13 members you can leave out a couple of species. For example,
copepods, flounder, cod and common gull can be left out
– Exercises 1,2 and 5 can be done with the whole as one group
– Exercises 3 and 4 are best done in smaller groups defined by the number of species
– Give each student one info card and one ID-card
– Ask students to find out only what they need to know in the text for a particular exercise
For example, for exercise 1 students’ task is to find out what group their species belong to etc
Duration: 2 lessons
TEACHER’S MATERIAL 9EXERCISE 1
Get to know species of the Baltic Sea
This teaching material includes info cards of C. Ask students to pin the ID-card on their
different species of the Baltic Sea. There are chest.
13 species indroduced. There are examples D. Ask students to form two circles with the
of many groups of organisms and all these same number of students each: an inner
species are dependent on each other. circle and an outer circle.
E. Ask students to introduce themselves (the
A. Give each student a card. It doesn’t matter species on the ID-card) to each other. The
if more than one student has the same inner circle goes clock-wise and the outer
card. circle goes anti clock-wise. Students should
B. Ask students to read the text on the card. walk slowly so that they have time to
Then ask them to make “an identification shake hands and talk. If necessary ask stu-
card” for themselves. This ID-card should dents to do this introduction twice.
have a name of the group the species
belongs to (e.g. mammal, algae, etc).
TEACHER’S MATERIAL 10EXERCISE 2 Do you remember
the names and groups?
For this exercise you will need two soft balls. B. Ask a student to throw a ball to another
student whose name and group they can
A. Ask students to form one big circle with remember. If more than one student has
ID-cards so that they can see only the the same ID they should not throw the ball
picture of the species. to those who have the same ID.
C. Continue until every student has got the
ball at least once.
D. You can make the game a bit more excit-
ing by having two balls in the game at the
COMMON EIDER same time.
EXERCISE 3 What kind of species are you?
A. Students sit in a circle so that they can see
each other.
B. Everybody tells a couple of interesting
things about the species they represent.
TEACHER’S MATERIAL 11EXERCISE 4 What do you eat?
You need 25 pieces of woollen strings, about D. Finally, students form the food web typical
50 cm each. for the Baltic Sea.
E. Now, students can say what species is
A. Students find out what they eat from their eaten most.
info cards. Students can have the ID-cards F. The species that is eaten most dies and lets
if necessary. go off their strings. Ask students to think
B. Students take as many strings of wool as how this would affect the other species in
they have species to eat. the food web.
C. While holding onto one end of their strings,
students give the other end to those
species that are part of their diet. Students
should hold the strings of wool until every-
body has found something to eat.
copepods
water flea
microscopic plankton algae
baltic isopod
bladder wrack
blue mussel
harbour porpoise
baltic herring
grey seal
cod
gommon gull
flounder
comon eider
TEACHER’S MATERIAL 12EXERCISE 5 Are you in danger?
A. Students read this chapter in the info Alternative C and D
cards.
B. Divide the class in two groups: group 1 Group 1 discusses things that threaten them
those in danger, group 2 those not in and then mime one of these threats at a time
danger. to group 2. Group 2 tries to guess what the
C. Students (species) in group 1 tell others threat is, and vice versa.
why they are in danger.
D. Students (species) in group 2 tell others
why they are not in danger.
TEACHER’S MATERIAL 13MICROSCOPIC PLANKTON ALGAE
AND CYANOBACTERIA __________
What do they look like?
Microscopic plankton algae and cyanobacteria
are so tiny that they cannot be seen by the
naked eye. You need a microscope to identify
Are they important
different species from each other. They have
species in the Baltic Sea?
only one cell and they can have different kinds
of flagellas and cilias. Sometimes they can grow The microscopic plankton algae and cyano-
together as a line of cells. They can be identified bacteria are the beginning of the food chain.
by the shape or the colour of the cell. Therefore they play an important role in the
If the number of individuals of microscopic marine animal and plant community. All the
plankton algae and cyanobacteria grow enor- plankton animals, called zooplankton, many
mously they form so-called algal blooms. They other invertebrates and some fish eat them.
colour the water and then it is easy to see them. Without them other species will not survive.
Where do they grow? Are they in danger?
The microscopic plankton algae and cyanobac- The more nutrients in the sea the better the
teria live as deep in the water as the rays of living conditions are for microscopic plankton
sunlight can reach because they need the sun- algae and cyanobacteria. There have always
light to survive. They can float in the water with been algal blooms in the sea. However, massive
their flagellas and cilias. Some of them use gas blooms have become more frequent and
bubbles or drops of oil to help them float. They intense due to the eutrophication of the sea.
can also be found on top of other bigger algae. So they are not in any danger.
What do they need to live? Does it matter if there are
mass algal blooms?
They need sunlight for the photosynthesis.
They take carbon dioxide and water from the Nowadays, harmful algal blooms occur in the
surrounding water to make sugar and oxygen. Baltic Sea every year. Wide and dense blooms
Sugar is the microscopic plankton alga’s and threaten life in the sea and negatively affect the
cyanobacteria’s food, so they are able to make use of marine resources, for example beaches
their own food. They also take nutrients from and fishing. Algal blooms can be toxic and are
the surrounding water. They use both sugar and therefore not only an aesthetic nuisance but
nutrients to live and to multiply. Some of the also a real health risk for humans and animals.
sugar is used in respiration to give them energy. Regional algal blooms can occur earlier or later
For respiration they need oxygen which is also in the summer, depending on the weather and
made during photosynthesis. the nutrients available in the water.
STUDENT’S MATERIAL 14BLADDER WRACK __________________________
What does it look like?
Bladder wrack can grow to over one metre.
In its typical form, bladder wrack has air filled
bladders that are attached in pairs. The leafy
lobes have a clear central trunk that reaches
all the way to the top. Its colour can vary
from yellowish-green to brownish. It looks like
Is it in danger?
a plant but it is an alga. Bladder wrack is a
member of the brown algae group. Bladder wrack is uncommon or has completely
disappeared from certain areas of the Baltic
Sea where it was quite common before. It can
Where does it grow?
no longer live as deep as it used to.
It grows almost everywhere in the Baltic Sea. It
can be found in shallow waters where it grows It is believed that over-fertilisation in farming is
on rocks and cliffs. It grows from shallow the main reason for bladder wrack’s problems.
waters to 5 metres’ depth. Bladder wrack Over-fertilisation happens because people use
grows only if the water is fairly clean. too many nutrients for growing crops. Rain can
wash large amounts of nutrients into rivers and
streams and in the end into the Baltic Sea.
What does it need to live?
Bladder wrack needs sunlight for photo- Over-fertilisation results in a massive growth
synthesis. The alga takes carbon dioxide and of microscopic plankton algae and other parti-
water from the surrounding water to make cles in the water which make the water murky
sugar and oxygen. Sugar is the alga´s food, so and thereby prevents the sunlight from reach-
the alga is able to make its own food. It also ing bladder wrack. Nutrients also help bigger
takes nutrients from the surrounding water. It green algae to grow. Green algae attach easily
uses both sugar and nutrients to grow and to to bladder wrack and press it down. This
make new leafy lobes. Some of the sugar is makes it even harder for bladder wrack to get
used in respiration to give the alga energy. For sunlight and without sunlight it dies.
respiration it needs oxygen which is also made
during photosynthesis.
Is it an important species
in the Baltic Sea?
It is like a hotel for many species. Several crus-
taceans and many other marine invertebrates
live among bladder wrack and eat it.
STUDENT’S MATERIAL 15COPEPODS ________________________________
How do they look like?
Copepods are a type of zooplankton. They
are often transparent with a yellow to red
tone. Copepods have three body parts – front,
middle and back. In the front part of their
body they have two antennae and one eye.
They have many pairs of legs which they use
for swimming. They are microscopic. Their What do they eat?
maximum length is about 1.1 cm. Copepods
Copepods eat most types of plankton: from
are crustaceans.
microscopic plankton algae to other copepods.
Where do they live?
Are they in danger?
They live anywhere from sea-level to a depth of
Copepods will do well as long as there is food
at least 4 000 m.
in the sea. Their enemies are for example crus-
taceans, mussels and fish.
STUDENT’S MATERIAL 16WATER FLEAS ______________________________
What do they look like?
Water fleas are a type of zooplankton. A water
flea’s body is covered by two shells that create
an opening underneath. On its head it has
one eye and two large antennae. The large
antennae they use for swimming. Under its
belly it has many legs which it uses to get
What do they eat?
water and food into its gills and mouth. Water
fleas are microscopic and their maximum Water fleas eat microscopic plankton algae and
length is 0.6 cm. Water fleas are crustaceans. cyanobacteria.
Where do they live? Are they in danger?
They can be found from the water surface Water fleas will do well as long as there is
down to a depth of a few metres. Water fleas food for them in the sea. Their enemies are for
are mainly freshwater organisms, but a few example crustaceans, mussels and fish.
species tolerate brackish water.
STUDENT’S MATERIAL 17BALTIC ISOPOD ____________________________
What do they look like?
The body of the Baltic isopod is elliptical; the
back part of the body is narrower than the
middle body. It has two kinds of antennae:
the inner antennae are short while the outer
are about a fourth of the body’s length. Its
Are they in danger?
colour can vary greatly, but it is usually green-
ish, dark brown or reddish and may have spots Sometimes fish eat Baltic isopods but usually
or patches. Females are shorter than males. fish have difficulties finding them because they
Females’ maximum length is 2 cm and males’ can hide among bladder wrack. They hold so
4.2 cm. The Baltic isopod is a crustacean. tight to the bladder wrack that it is very hard
to get them off. They don’t have danger-
ous enemies, but they would be in danger if
Where do they live and
bladder wrack disappeared because then they
what do they eat? would have no place to stay.
Baltic isopods can be found from a depth of
20 m up to the water surface. They like to hide
in bushes of bladder wrack where they can
find microscopic plankton algae for nutrition.
They also eat bladder wrack and sometimes
only eat the soft parts leaving behind the hard
trunk.
STUDENT’S MATERIAL 18BLUE MUSSEL______________________________
What do they look like?
Blue mussels’ shells are bluish-brown-violet
in colour. The blue mussel is inside two shells
which are oval-shaped. In the shell you can see
growth rings which tell how old the mussel is.
In the Baltic Sea the blue mussel is rarely bigger
Are they in danger?
than 5-6 cm long. The less salt there is in the
water, the smaller they are. Blue mussels are The most important thing for the blue mussels
molluscs. is to have enough salt in the water. The less
salt there is in the water the smaller the
mussels and the fewer the number of eggs and
Where do they live?
larva they produce. Blue mussels are food for
Blue mussels can be found on rocks and on eider ducks and crabs. Many fish, especially
sandy bottoms. Small blue mussels can attach Baltic herring, eat its larva. The number of blue
onto bladder wrack. They live from shallow mussels varies greatly from year to year and it
waters to a depth of 30 meters. They often live is not known well why this happens. It is not in
really close to each other at the bottom in so- danger if the water is salty enough.
called mussel banks.
Are they important for
What do they eat? the Baltic Sea?
Blue mussels filter microscopic plankton algae Blue mussels are an important food for some
from the water. They pump water inside their animals. Large mussel banks also offer shelter
bodies, take the food from the water and then for many other animals. Blue mussels filter a
pump the water out. An about one-year-old large amount of microscopic plankton algae
mussel has the ability to pump between 2-3 from the water and therefore keep the water
litres of water an hour while an older mussel clean.
can pump as much as 6-9 litres an hour.
STUDENT’S MATERIAL 19BALTIC HERRING ___________________________
What does it look like?
The Baltic herring is a small fish which is only
12-20 cm long and weighs 30-39 g. Its sides
are silver and its back is dark grey. It has a big
head where the lower jaw is longer than the
upper one. The mouth is especially designed
for eating plankton. It enables Baltic herring to
Is it in danger?
get a lot of water into its mouth at one time
and so also a lot of plankton. It has no teeth Today the number of Baltic herring has gone
because it doesn’t need them. down because of falling salinity levels and
changes in the amount of zooplankton. The
Baltic herring is one of the most important
What does it eat?
catches for fisherman. It has been over-fished.
It swims in open waters and eats mostly zoo- Many birds, seals, harbour porpoises and
plankton but also plankton algae. bigger fish eat it. Today Baltic herring has got
toxic substances called dioxins inside its body
which are bad for its health. Animals that eat
Where does it live?
Baltic herring also suffer from dioxins.
The Baltic herring lives in all parts of the Baltic
Sea. For the most part of the year, it inhabits
the open sea and the open stretches between
islands.
STUDENT’S MATERIAL 20COD ______________________________________
What kind of fish is it?
The cod has a long body and a very big head
with a large mouth and sharp teeth. It has an
overbite (its upper jaw is slightly longer than
its lower jaw). It also has a barbel (a whisker
under its lower jaw) and a light coloured streak
from the back of its head to the end of its tail.
Its colour can vary depending on its environ-
ment. Among water plants its colour can be
red, brown or greenish. In open water or on Cods need salty water. Cod eggs will only
sandy bottoms it can be light grey. float and survive in fairly salty and oxygen-rich
water, so their main spawning areas are in the
The cod grows fast. A two-year-old cod is nor- south-western waters of the Baltic Sea. This
mally 25 cm long and weighs 500 g. At the is also why there are relatively few cods in the
age of ten it can be 90-120 cm long and weigh Gulf of Bothnia and the Gulf of Finland where
8-15 g. It can even grow up to 150 cm and can the water is not that salty.
weight almost 40 kg. It is a strong and power-
ful beast which can swim fast.
Is it in danger?
What does it eat? The situation for cods is not very good. The
number of cods has gone down. There are
The cod is also known as “the vacuum cleaner mainly two reasons for this. First, during the
of the seas” because it eats all the time and it 1980s and 1990s the Baltic Sea did not get
eats everything. As a young fish it eats shellfish enough salty water from the North Sea. In
like water fleas, copepods, worms and other some areas of the Baltic Sea, water which had
invertebrates like blue mussel. As an adult its enough salt for the cod eggs had too little
main food is Baltic herring. oxygen.
Secondly, the cod is the most important com-
Where does it like to live?
mercially exploited fish species in the Baltic
Usually it swims close to the sea floor, but it Sea. It is heavily over-fished. Nowadays, there
also swims in the open sea from the depth of are not enough baby cods and the number of
5 metres down to 600 metres. cods is decreasing fast.
STUDENT’S MATERIAL 21FLOUNDER ________________________________
What does it look like?
The flounder is one of the funniest looking fish
in the Baltic Sea. Its body is very flat and oval
shaped. The majority of flounders turn their
right side upwards, but up to a third can be
left-sided. It swims on its side. The flounder
has normally a white belly and a mixed brown
What does it eat?
back. It can change its colour to resemble the
colour of the bottom. The flounder has rows The flounder’s diet consists of worms, shrimps,
of bumps along its back. It has both its eyes fish and common mussels like blue mussel. For
on the top side of its body. It can grow up to the flounder every day is almost the same. It is
50 cm long but its normal size is 20-35 cm. It most active at night in shallow waters, while
weighs 300-600g. during the day the flounder digs into mud and
sand to rest.
Where does it live?
Is it in danger?
The flounder is found from the shoreline down
to a depth of about 25 metres. The younger Flounders can only mate in areas where there
flounders keep to shallower waters. You can is at least 1 % salt in the water. At lower salt
find them on muddy and sandy bottoms. levels the eggs sink and often die. The flounder
Some of them wander up rivers into fresh- is fished, but not too much. It is not in danger
water. and the number of flounders in the Baltic Sea
has stayed almost the same for many years.
STUDENT’S MATERIAL 22COMMON GULL____________________________
What does it look like?
The common gull is one of the smallest gulls
in the Baltic Sea region. It has the friendli-
est looking face of all gulls. It has a small and
thin bill and a round shaped head. The upper
wings are pale grey in colour and the wings
have black tips with white spots. The legs and
the bill are greenish-yellow. Its wingspan is 99-
108 cm. Its length is 40-46 cm and it weighs
300-480 g. The calls of common gulls are;
Where does it live?
‘ke ke ke ke kleeeh-a’ and is said to resemble
laughter. In the summer the common gull breeds on
coasts and islands where there are a lot of dif-
ferent kinds of water plants. During the winter
What does it eat?
they can be seen on farmland, and they are
During winter, common gulls feed mainly on often seen looking for food in rubbish dumps.
earthworms. At other times of the year they
will also eat insects, fish like baltic herring,
Is it in danger?
small mammals and rubbish.
The common gull is not in danger at present.
STUDENT’S MATERIAL 23COMMON EIDER ___________________________
What does it look like?
The common eider is the largest duck in the
Baltic Sea. It weighs 1 800 g on average, but its
weight can vary from 850 to 3 025 g depend-
ing on sex and time of year. Its length is 50-
70 cm and its wingspan 110 cm.
The best way to identify an adult male is to
look for its white cheek, throat, neck, back and
Is it in danger?
breast. Further, the top of the head, the sides,
the belly and the tail are black and it has green The main predators of common
on the back and the sides of the neck. Adult eiders are large gulls which eat the eggs and
females are mostly brown, with black stripes. the baby birds. Because they nest mostly
on small islands, common eiders have few
mammal predators. Sometimes foxes and
What does it eat?
minks may be of danger to them.
The common eider gets its food during the day
by diving to the bottom to a depth of 3 to 20 Transportation of large amount of crude oil in
metres. It eats mainly blue mussels which it the Baltic Sea is a threat to birds. Increasing oil
swallows whole. transportation will raise the risk of a large oil
spill. Oil in the water makes the birds’ feath-
ers greasy so that they get cold and cannot fly.
Where does it live?
When they try to clean themselves, they get
The common eider lives along the shore and toxic oil into their system.
on the islands of the Baltic Sea.
Despite predators and oil transport, the
number of common eider has grown a little in
the Baltic Sea area during recent years.
STUDENT’S MATERIAL 24GREY SEAL ________________________________
What does it look like?
The male grey seal is 195-230 cm long and
weighs 170-310 kg. The female has a length of
165-195 cm and a weight of 95-105 kg. This is
a seal species where the male and the female
look clearly different. The male grey seal has
Is it in danger?
a long nose, heavy shoulders and thick, folded
skin around the neck. The coat of mature The grey seal in the Baltic Sea is in danger.
males is dark brown, grey or black with lighter Many of the fish species in the grey seal’s diet
blotches on the neck and sides. The female’s are over-fished, so it has to compete with fish-
nose is shorter and narrower and is lighter in ermen. Sometimes grey seals steal from fishing
colour, with dark spots on a grey or yellowish nets and completely empty them. They also
background. Grey seals are mammals. destroy fishing nets. Sometimes grey seals get
caught in the fishing nets and drown.
Where does it live?
The Baltic Sea is one of the most polluted
The grey seal can be found everywhere in the seas in the world. In the Baltic Sea you can
Baltic Sea, but is more common in northern find toxic substances such as DDT and PCB.
waters. Grey seals live in groups; at summer They cause illnesses and wounds to grey seals.
time they gather on outer islands and rocks, Sometimes seals can get so sick that some of
and in the winter they gather on drift-ice close them can no longer have babies.
to open water. The pups are born on the ice in
late winter. Increased transportation in the Baltic Sea and
the construction of new ports and oil and
chemical terminals disturb grey seals. This is
What does it eat? also a threat to the grey seal population.
The grey seal mainly eats fish, mostly Baltic
herring and cod. It can also eat crustaceans. In the early 20th century there were a lot of
grey seals but then the number of grey seals
started to decrease fast. Currently the popu-
lation seems to be recovering in the north-
ern part of the Baltic Proper and the Gulf of
Bothnia. However, in the southern parts of the
Baltic Sea the situation for grey seals is still bad.
STUDENT’S MATERIAL 25HARBOUR PORPOISE _______________________
What does it look like?
The harbour porpoise is a small whale. Its back
is brown or dark grey, changing to a lighter
grey on the sides. Its flippers are small, dark
and slightly rounded; the fin on its back is
triangular and is located in the middle of its
back. With its back fin and small body size, this
porpoise is easy to identify.
What does it eat?
The average length for a harbour porpoise is In the Baltic Sea the harbour porpoise eats fish,
1.3-1.8 metres although it can grow to about mostly Baltic herring and cod.
2 metres. Females are slightly larger than
males. They weigh 45-65 kg, with a maximum
Is it in danger?
of 90 kg. The harbour porpoise is a mammal.
In the past, the harbour porpoise was hunted
for food and its fat. Today, the most significant
Where does it live?
threat in most areas is fishing nets. Harbour
The harbour porpoise lives in the southern porpoises often get caught in fishing nets and
Baltic Sea and can sometimes be seen even drown. Other types of threats include pollu-
off the Finnish coast. Harbour porpoises live in tion, ship traffic, noise, and over-fishing of
pairs or in small groups, always near the coast. Baltic herring and cod. The Baltic Sea is one
of the most polluted seas in the world. In
The harbour porpoise is a really good diver. the Baltic Sea you can find toxic substances
Normally it dives to about 20-30 metres depth such as DDT and PCB which cause illnesses
but it can dive down to more than 200 metres. and wounds to harbour porpoise. Sometimes
It usually stays under water for a few minutes harbour porpoises get so sick that they cannot
at a time. It has lungs and that is why it has to have babies.
come to the surface to breathe.
The number of harbour porpoises has gone
Harbour porpoises rarely approach boats to down dramatically during the 20th century. In
ride bow waves, and often actively avoid the beginning of the 20th century there were
vessels. They move by ‘rolling’ slowly forward approximately 10 000-20 000 harbour por-
in the water, and are not as acrobatic as other poises. Today, there are only approximately 600
small whales. They also remain still, especially harbour porpoises left, mainly in the southern
at night. part of the Baltic Sea.
STUDENT’S MATERIAL 26MICROSCOPIC
PLANKTON ALGAE AND
CYANOBACTERIA
BLADDER WRACK
COPEPOD
STUDENT’S MATERIAL 27WATER FLEA
BALTIC ISOPOD
BLUE MUSSEL
STUDENT’S MATERIAL 28BALTIC HERRING
COD
FLOUNDER
STUDENT’S MATERIAL 29COMMON EIDER
COMMON GULL
GREY SEAL
STUDENT’S MATERIAL 30HARBOUR
PORPOISE
STUDENT’S MATERIAL 31Teaching unit 3:
The speech of the Lord of the Seas
You will need:
– Copies of texts dealing with threats to the Baltic Sea (Eutrophication, Toxic substances, Oil,
Biodiversity). One threat for one student
– One copy of exercise 2 per student
– Paper for writing an essay
Instructions:
– In the beginning of the lesson you can show the Lord of the Things film again to refresh
everybody’s memory
– Read the exercises 1-3. With each exercise you will find more detailed instructions
– Divide students into groups of four
– Give each student in a group a text dealing with one of the threats (four different texts within
a group) and ask students to read their text carefully
– Ask students in a group to tell each other about their subject (threat). And after this ask them
to work together and to make a summary on the texts according to exercise 1
– Ask the groups to present their summaries to the other groups and hang possible drawings
on the wall
– For exercise 2 divide students into pairs and give each pair a copy of the exercise.
– Ask students to compare their answers with another pair
– Discuss the topic of ‘What can I do?’ with the whole class
– Exercise 3 is done individually by each student
Duration: 2-3 lessons
TEACHER’S MATERIAL 32The speech of the Lord of the Seas
Eutrophication
All plants, algae and cyanobacteria need sun- when the number of microscopic plankton
light, water, carbon dioxide, oxygen and nutri- algae grows. The number of fish which eat
ents, mainly nitrogen and phosphorus, in order zooplankton also grows. When there are more
to grow. fish in the sea, it is also good for the birds, grey
seals and harbour porpoises.
Large quantities of nutrients come into the
sea from land and air via rivers and rain. This The bad effects are greater than the good
can cause over-fertilisation of the water and ones. Water becomes clouded and there are
is called eutrophication. People often use too water plants and algae which cannot get
much fertiliser in the fields of their farms. enough sunlight and die. Both small and large
Waste water is released to the sea without algae and plants end up at the bottom, where
proper cleaning resulting in too many nutrients decomposing processes can result in a lack
washing into the sea. Nutrients come into the of oxygen and the production of poisonous
air mainly from cars and factories. When we hydrogen sulphides. These bottom areas are
use fossil fuels we pollute the air with toxic called dead bottoms. Animals that have lived
substances and nutrients such as nitrogen and on these bottoms die from the lack of oxygen
phosphorus. and the poisonous hydrogen sulphides. All this
leads to the loss of biodiversity.
In open waters, the effects of eutrophication
are often seen in the rapid growth of micro- Some types of cyanobacteria can be toxic, and
scopic plankton algae and cyanobacteria. In they can be a real health risk for humans and
coastal areas you can find extreme growth of animals. Also, water which is full of
water plants. In shallow water and bays, for cyanobacteria does not look nice.
example thread-like filamentous green algae You do not want to go
take over the area rapidly. swimming among masses
of cyanobacteria.
Eutrophication has good and bad effects in
the Baltic Sea. The good effects are for micro- Eutrophication is
scopic plankton algae and cyanobacteria, the most serious
certain water plants and some algae. It is good problem in
for zooplankton and for example blue mussel the Baltic Sea.
STUDENT’S MATERIAL 33Toxic substances
The Baltic Sea is one of the most polluted Toxic substances can end up in plants, macro-
seas in the world. Most toxic and harmful scopic and microscopic algae. Animals which
substances do not exist naturally in the water. eat plants and algae then collect the toxic sub-
Man’s activities have put them there in some stances inside their bodies. Predators that eat
way or another. Many factories and traffic other animals get even more toxic substances
produce waste materials which are toxic, for inside them. Animals’ bodies cannot
example dioxins, DDTs, PCBs, lead, copper break down toxic substances so
and mercury. They enter into the water by air, they get more and more of them
waste water or dumping. Once released into every day. Animals get all kinds of
the Baltic Sea, toxic substances can remain diseases as a result and can even
there for hundreds, even thousands of years. have difficulties having babies.
Oil
Oil is a serious threat to the Baltic Sea and its causes three
wildlife. There are a lot of oil transportation kinds of prob-
and other kind of traffic on the Baltic Sea every lems: they cannot fly, they get cold and they get
day. Shipping accidents and illegal oil-spills the toxic oil inside their body. Seals suffer from
from ships’ machinery spaces and cargo tanks similar problems. Oil also destroys places where
are the main sources of oil pollution in the plants grow and animals live - and beaches
Baltic Sea. Especially, the ships transporting oil where people spent their free time. Because oil
are the biggest threat. We can only imagine is very toxic it can cause serious problems to
what would happen if two oil tankers collide! plankton, fish and animals on the sea floor.
Oil easily spreads over a large area. Some of Oil decomposes slowly in the cold waters of
the oil stays on the surface and some of it sinks the Baltic Sea, where the average water tem-
deeper and mixes with water - depending on perature is only about 10 degrees. The colder
the quality of oil. Of course, what we can first the water is the more slowly oil decomposes. If
see are the problems caused by the oil on the oil reaches land, people have to clean it up and
surface. Oil makes birds’ feathers dirty which this is really hard work and takes a long time.
STUDENT’S MATERIAL 34Biodiversity
The more species there are in a certain area Eutrophication, toxic substances oil-spills and
the better the biodiversity. Also, if there are over-fishing make life a lot more difficult for
many different kinds of natural living areas many species in the Baltic Sea. Some of the
for different species, we can say that biodiver- species get ill, some cannot have babies and
sity is good. In the Baltic Sea area protecting some species die. Many species are food for
biodiversity means that we want to keep all other species. If we lose species the others will
the species we have today and to have many suffer and they will also
different kinds of natural living areas. disappear in the end.
Because the Baltic Sea has brackish water About 16 million people
it has fewer species than open oceans. So, live along the coast of
the biodiversity in the Baltic Sea is naturally the Baltic Sea. People
lower than in the biodiversity in open oceans. build for example ports,
The species living in the Baltic Sea are very industrial areas and
sensitive to any changes in their natural towns which destroy
environment. the natural living areas
of other species.
STUDENT’S MATERIAL 35EXERCISE 1 The race has not ended yet
There are different things that are dangerous What can we do?
for the well-being of the Baltic Sea.
– Make changes in farming practices to reduce
Think about what you can do to protect the
the discharge of nitrogen and phosphorous
Baltic Sea.
– Build more waste water treatment plants
– Use more bicycles
– Use more public transport
– Use less fossil fuels
– Consume less
– Use more wind, wood and solar energy
– Build safer tankers which have double hulls
Dangers
or double bottoms
Eutrophication – Use less toxic substances
Oil transportation – Lower amount of fertilizers in the fields
Loss of biodiversity – Increase international co-operation and
Over-fishing make more laws that protect the environ-
Toxic substances ment
– Create new ways of earning a living
– Punishment for those who break the law
– Take part in nature conservation work
– Leave natural living areas as they are
What can I do?
– Think of what you personally can do.
Choose from the list above. Can you think of
anything else?
STUDENT’S MATERIAL 36EXERCISE 2 The speech of the Lord of the Seas
A. Students read the texts EUTROPHICATION, B. Students make a simple summary of the
TOXIC SUBSTANCES, OIL and texts in their mother tongue. Students can
BIODIVERSITY imagine that the summary is for smaller
children than they are. Encourage students
to use drawings in their work.
EXERCISE 3 Essay
Students write an essay in their mother tongue
or in English about one of the following titles:
1. What kind of Baltic Sea would I like to
have?
2. What does “ignorance” mean?
TEACHER’S MATERIAL 37List of key words
THE BALTIC SEA
Young sea with brackish water Water exchange
the Baltic sea _____________________ a bottom _____________________
brackish water _____________________ to become _____________________
a lot less salt _____________________ oxygen _____________________
salt _____________________ the survival _____________________
a salinity _____________________ extremely strong _____________________
northern _____________________ to reach _____________________
eastern _____________________ the deepest _____________________
the Atlantic Ocean _____________________ heavier than _____________________
The Pacific Ocean _____________________ to mix _____________________
to bring _____________________
fresh water _____________________
salty _____________________
Few species
the North Sea _____________________
a narrow passage _____________________
fewer species _____________________
to get mixed _____________________
either too low _____________________
to flow _____________________
species _____________________
or too high _____________________
more difficult _____________________
Shallow sea with little oxygen as _____________________
more and more _____________________
shallow _____________________ polluted _____________________
divided _____________________ a climate _____________________
a basin _____________________ a region _____________________
varying _____________________ to affect _____________________
a depth _____________________ the living conditions _____________________
freeze over _____________________
southern _____________________
38Polluted sea
the most heavily _____________________ the Czech Republic _____________________
polluted _____________________ the Slovak Republik _____________________
in the north _____________________ Ukraine _____________________
in the east _____________________ far inland _____________________
in the south _____________________ industry _____________________
in the west _____________________ traffic _____________________
the entire _____________________ farming _____________________
a catchment area _____________________ main causes _____________________
in addition to _____________________ pollution _____________________
the countries _____________________ sensitive _____________________
bordering _____________________ too slowly _____________________
to include _____________________ polluted water _____________________
Belarus _____________________
MICROSCOPIC PLANKTON ALGAE AND CYANOBACTERIA
microscopic _____________________ on top of smthng _____________________
plankton algae _____________________ bigger algae _____________________
cyanobacteria _____________________ the photosynthesis _____________________
by the naked eye _____________________ carbon dioxide _____________________
to identify _____________________ surrounding _____________________
species (both _____________________ oxygen _____________________
singular and plural) _____________________ to be able to _____________________
a cell _____________________ nutrients _____________________
flagellas _____________________ to multiply _____________________
cilias _____________________ respiration _____________________
algal blooms _____________________ a food chain _____________________
the rays of sunshine _____________________ zooplankton _____________________
a ray _____________________ an invertebrate _____________________
to reach _____________________ the more… _____________________
to survive _____________________ the better _____________________
to float _____________________ living conditions _____________________
gas bubbles _____________________ more frequent _____________________
drops of oil _____________________ eutrophication _____________________
39BLADDER WRACK
a bladder wrack _____________________ respiration _____________________
air filled _____________________ uncommon _____________________
to attach _____________________ completely _____________________
leafy lobes _____________________ disappeared _____________________
a trunk _____________________ no longer _____________________
to vary _____________________ over-fertilisation _____________________
a plant _____________________ a crop _____________________
an alga _____________________ large amounts _____________________
algae _____________________ to result in _____________________
shallow _____________________ on _____________________
a depth _____________________ a growth _____________________
dense _____________________ microscopic _____________________
fairly _____________________ plankton algae _____________________
the photosynthesis _____________________ particles _____________________
carbon dioxide _____________________ murky _____________________
surrounding _____________________ thereby _____________________
oxygen _____________________ to prevent _____________________
to be able to _____________________ even harder _____________________
nutrients _____________________ without _____________________
COPEPODS
copepods _____________________ a depth _____________________
transparent _____________________ microscopic _____________________
antennae _____________________ plankton algae _____________________
a length _____________________ a mussel _____________________
a crustacean _____________________
40WATER FLEAS
a water flea _____________________ mainly _____________________
zooplankton _____________________ fresh water _____________________
to cover _____________________ a few _____________________
to create _____________________ species _____________________
underneath _____________________ to tolerate _____________________
antennae _____________________ brackish water _____________________
a gill _____________________ microscopic _____________________
a length _____________________ plankton algae _____________________
a crustacean _____________________ cyanobacteria _____________________
a surface _____________________ a mussel _____________________
a depth _____________________
BALTIC ISOPOD
Baltic isopod _____________________ a crustacean _____________________
elliptical _____________________ a depth _____________________
narrower _____________________ a surface _____________________
antennae _____________________ to hide _____________________
inner _____________________ a bush _____________________
outer _____________________ a bladder wrack _____________________
a fourth _____________________ microscopic _____________________
a length _____________________ plankton algae _____________________
to vary _____________________ nutrition _____________________
usually _____________________ difficulties _____________________
a patch _____________________ tight _____________________
a female _____________________ off _____________________
a male _____________________ disappear _____________________
41BLUE MUSSEL
blue mussel _____________________ an ability _____________________
oval-shaped _____________________ 2-3 litres of _____________________
growth rings _____________________ water an hour _____________________
the Baltic Sea _____________________ the most important _____________________
rarely _____________________ enough _____________________
bigger than _____________________ salt _____________________
the less…the smaller _____________________ the number of _____________________
a mollusc _____________________ an egg _____________________
to attach _____________________ larva _____________________
bladder wrack _____________________ an eider duck _____________________
shallow _____________________ a crab _____________________
a depth _____________________ a Baltic herring _____________________
each other _____________________ to vary _____________________
so-called _____________________ it is not known _____________________
mussel bank _____________________ salty _____________________
filter _____________________ offer _____________________
microscopic _____________________ a shelter _____________________
plankton algae _____________________ therefore _____________________
BALTIC HERRING
A Baltic herring _____________________ the salinity _____________________
to weigh _____________________ a change _____________________
a lower jaw _____________________ the amount of _____________________
an upper jaw _____________________ the most important _____________________
especially _____________________ a catch _____________________
at one time _____________________ to over-fish _____________________
zooplankton _____________________ a seal _____________________
plankton algae _____________________ a harbour porpoise _____________________
the Baltic Sea _____________________ toxic substances _____________________
to inhabit _____________________ a health _____________________
the number of _____________________ suffer from _____________________
42COD
a cod _____________________ to survive _____________________
teeth _____________________ fairly _____________________
overbite _____________________ oxygen-rich _____________________
an upper jaw _____________________ a spawning area _____________________
a lower jaw _____________________ south-western _____________________
a barbel _____________________ the Baltic Sea _____________________
streak _____________________ relatively few _____________________
a tail _____________________ the Gulf of Bothnia _____________________
to vary _____________________ the Gulf of Finland _____________________
depending on _____________________ the number of _____________________
environment _____________________ mainly _____________________
to weigh _____________________ a reason _____________________
a vacuum cleaner _____________________ the North Sea _____________________
shellfish _____________________ the most important _____________________
a worm _____________________ commercially _____________________
an invertebrate _____________________ to exploit _____________________
a Baltic herring _____________________ species _____________________
usually _____________________ over-fish _____________________
salty _____________________ to decrease _____________________
to float _____________________
FLOUNDER
a flounder _____________________ to wander _____________________
the Baltic Sea _____________________ freshwater _____________________
flat _____________________ a diet _____________________
oval-shaped _____________________ to consist of _____________________
a majority _____________________ a worm _____________________
upwards _____________________ a shrimp _____________________
a third _____________________ a mussel _____________________
to change _____________________ to rest _____________________
to resemble _____________________ to mate _____________________
both _____________________ lower _____________________
to weigh _____________________ salt _____________________
a shoreline _____________________ a level _____________________
a depth _____________________ to sink _____________________
shallower _____________________ a number of _____________________
muddy _____________________
43COMMON EIDER
a common eider _____________________ to swallow _____________________
the Baltic Sea _____________________ whole _____________________
to weigh _____________________ a predator _____________________
on average _____________________ a gull _____________________
to vary _____________________ to nest _____________________
depending on _____________________ few _____________________
a sex _____________________ a mammal _____________________
a length _____________________ an amount of _____________________
a wingspan _____________________ crude oil _____________________
to identify _____________________ a threat _____________________
an adult _____________________ to increase _____________________
a male _____________________ to raise _____________________
a cheek _____________________ an oil-spill _____________________
a tail _____________________ a feather _____________________
a female _____________________ greasy _____________________
a stripe _____________________ toxic _____________________
by diving _____________________ despite _____________________
a depth _____________________ has grown _____________________
mainly _____________________ during recent years _____________________
a blue mussel _____________________
COMMON GULL
a common gull _____________________ mainly _____________________
the Baltic Sea _____________________ an earthworm _____________________
a region _____________________ an insect _____________________
a bill _____________________ a mammal _____________________
a wingspan _____________________ to breed _____________________
a length _____________________ a plant _____________________
to weigh _____________________ they can be seen _____________________
to resemble _____________________ a rubbish dump _____________________
a laughter _____________________ at present _____________________
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